It was great to comment during the game, it’s really fun. I’m looking forward to doing it again the next time I can watch the Dodgers on a regular TV set. I can’t do it on MLBTV MOSAIC…WE GOT TO BEAT THOSE HALOS…GO BLUE CREW.

Let’s see Ethier instead of Pierre? So far this year- Ethier .261/.311/0 SB instead of Pierre .279/.310/20 SB. I guess that makes sense. Second half last year- Ethier .277/.337/2 instead of Pierre .311/.340/14. What is Grady thinking?

sorry to interupt the usual what the hay is grittle thinking with the lineup, although it is fun, but is anyone else concerned about throwing schmidt out there tommorrow, a day game (and balls have tended to fly out of here during day games lately)?

Last couple of series Pierre has been outhitting Ethier. Granted, Ethier is now getting irregular playing time, but I’m OK with this outfield. Kemp has been incredible so far this year.

Since the beginning of the SD series, Pierre’s average is up 10 points and Ethier’s is down 15. Although many of us have made it totally clear how much we dislike Pierre in the lineup, he’s been productive of late, and deserves a shot to try to continue to be. I would guess that Ethier has become the late inning defensive replacement for Gonzo/Pierre. Not that Ethier is bad, but around the All-Star break last year he was hitting around .340; he’s at .261 now. Compare that with Kemp’s limited appearances, and this fight is between Ethier and Pierre, at least for a few weeks.

Good point marvincig. Ethier hasn’t been the same stud he was in the first half last year. And Pierre is creeping closer to his career numbers, which if he makes, I’m OK with him. Not in love with him, but OK.

Now he has no other excuse with a better younger player on the bench, who’s ready and able to take Nomars place.

—

so what his excuse today then?

James loney in two days has 1 less extrabase hit then Nomar has had in his last 38 games. Thats **************-eight games with 3 doubles. The last time Nomar hit an opposite field shot off the wall this year has been never.

I’m also concerned about starting Schmidt again. Given his once again low velocity, he should have had a bullpen session. If he could not reach at least 90 on the radar gun, he should not be given another start, but should go back on the DL until he’s ready. Otherwise it may be just giving the game away. We might as well start Bills and expect him to go maybe four innings at full speed in his first start, then follow-up with whoever our long reliever is for another three. If Schmidt cannot muster the necessary velocity, he won’t last any more than four anyway, and the game may already be lost if he throws like he did the last time.

I don’t know, I think if Schmidt has a start as awful as his last, he will be DLed. I mean they have already admitted to being concerned after his last start. I’m confident they are willing to change around the rotation and yank people as necessary, as they did with bombko and hendy.

That is just pure speculation. Come on– you know thats a dumb thing to say. And of course id like to be 20 games over .500, but you have no idea what our record would be if you made the lineup everynight. What is fact, and we do know, is that Grady is our manager, the players like him and respond to him, and we are 10 games over .500. Its just pointless to call him stupid everynight over the lineup — like he doesnt know about Nomars pitiful numbers of late.. Of course he knows, but guess what, there is a method to his madness and that is clearly evident in our record. Let me ask you this– what does our record need to be for people to start trusting Grady??

How can you say we have been winning in spite of poor management? There is just no way to know that. We are a team. We are winning. Its pretty unfair to make claims like that to the entire team.

Im just re-reading what you wrote and its making me laugh. Im sure we would have 10 more wins with a “decent manager”— OKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK. that is just so dumb. how do you know that? how do you even figure that?

well ewk we are winning with Juan Pierre, who is on pace to have a career worst season not only for him but for any dodger centerfielder, who is still at the top of the lineup. I beleive thats grady’s call. We are still winning enve with Nomar, who is on pace for the second worst season by any dodger first basebam, batting 3rd. Which is grady’s call. WE are also close to first after a month with Brett Tomko as our 5th starter. again grady’s call and we are still winning wiht our best player batting 6th. Gradys call again.

You guys are the fans? Are you sure you’re not opposing teams fans posing as Dodger fans?

Grady is juggling veterans and Youth both with every day players and the pitching staff and doing a great job.

Nomar has not shown power lately, but has knocked in a ton of runs. Loney is the heir apparent, but you don’t want the entire Las Vegas team breaking into the majors at once.

Kent is a legitimate power source that now can be rested a few days a week with the emergence of Abreu.

Furcal doesn’t like to come out, but with that sore wheel he can use an occasional rest and Abreu is good for that too.

Betemit has come around, is a power guy, and steadily raising his batting average. Hope Murray wasn’t his mentor.

Gonzales has some pop left in his bat, but will be getting some rest now that we have Kemp and Either both demanding (by their play) time in the lineup.

JP has a weak arm. Fine. Done. Agreed. He is listening to his manager and probably didn’t like what Murray had to say. He’s being more patient, getting base hits, raising his batting average, and maybe his relationship (I have no idea) with Eddie Murray was playing with his head and effecting his fielding. Give the guy a chance.

Kemp has been wonderful since his return, but I think he proved last year he is not a CF. Unless JP is traded for a power guy don’t look for Kemp in Center.

We have great pitchers (and that’s without Schmidt who could still be a BIG help this year), great relief. A super bence and if you want to ***** let’s try and figure out who our 3rd string catcher currently is.

Grady and Ned are dueing great, and I for one am not convinced a trade for a power bat is needed.

This blog used to be great- now theres just way too much negativity…. come on folks- Grady and Ned are making changes to improve the club, were in first place, the young guys are coming up, and you all can do nothing but gripe!

and rw– i am thrilled to hear that you get your points from “many, many sportswriters” … i think that is just icing on the cake. I dont they watch every game like i do, so ill trust my own observations when its come to my own team..
We all know why Boston dumped him– the public demanded some action after the ALCS and they went the scapegoat rout and fired Grady. You cant argue with his numbers as a manager; not here or Boston.

I know the players like Grady and respond to him based on many quotes i have read from the players over the course of his tenure as the Dodgers manager.

Anyway, with a win tonight we’ll get back where we belong in first place. And we’ll have the best record in the National League. Which feels nice and all, but would look really nice at the end of the season. This lineup destroyed the Mets so I have absolutely no problem sending it out there. Who cares where the production comes from? So long as it is there that’s all that matters. If anything that means we’re a tough team from top to bottom and we can beat you in many different ways. Which is what makes the game so much fun. I must again ask some of you to be patient and stop complaining every day about the lineup because you’ll get caught up in that and forget how good this team is. Also, how much depth we have that we have the luxury give certain players time off and replace them with players who can match or exceed their numbers. And vice versa.

Well Mr Fan – you say Grady is juggling youth & veterans and doing a good job….

HE SHUOULD HAVE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE DAY 1…Kemp, Loney, Abreu should have been on the roster instead of signing B Clark (who is now gone) & Martinez (also, now gone)… None of them had anything to prove… Loney & Abreu both hit well over .400 in spring training… It should have been a no brainer…

You say Nomar has knocked in a ton of runs…. HE ONLY HAS 4 XTRA BASE HITS ALL YEAR… Loney has done that in 4 games…. Dah !

Also, who do you think is the better fielder… Dah !

You say Kent is a power source… I say SO WHAT…

HE IS IS THE WORST 2ND BASEMAN IN THE MAJORS – MORE ERRORS BY FAR…. Dah !

If they wanted a real power source they sould have signed one… But, no, they signed Schmidt & Pierre…

Hasn’t that worked out just great so far….

You said that Pierre is coming around….

HE IS THE WORST CENTER FIELDER IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES— OPPOSING HITTERS LOVE THE FACT THAT HE IS PLAYING CENTER FIELD… He doesn’t have a weak arm…. He has no arm… Dah !

You say that Grady & Ned have been doing a great job….. Are you making a joke ?? Am I to assume that most of us are wrong & that you are right — thus making us haters & you a true fan…

How pathetic….

I guess all the sports writers in the media are Dodger haters when they say negative things about our team…. I doubt it very much… They are SIMPLY BEING REALISTIC – unlike you Mr fan…

Some points I agree with others are just bling faith.Fact Both Ethier and Nomar have been very off of their games since last years allstar break.Nomar has been great at knocking in runs great then he should only bat with runners in scoring position from the bench while he gets his act together let Loney play until that time.Ethier over JP thats a really hard sell except for the defense he brings with him.He is lost once he gets on base and is a running liability on the basepaths.Leave Gonzo right where he is he is doing a great job hitting maybe move him to the 3 spot if Loney is not plug n play ready.Furcal is really my biggest worry and has become the designated out leading off.Kemp has shown that lastyear was simply that. He is alot better defencivly and is hitting everything now so until they find a new hole in his swing he needs to play everyday.Kent….only way Kent stays in the line up is if he starts hitting some avg. to go with his power but if memory serves me he really heated up 2nd half lastyear so Iook for him to be coming around again and soon.I am ALL for Bills getting a few starts or even moving permanently to the starting rotation he has been nothing short of Stellar as of late and most of the year.The times he got into trouble I think his warm up was cut short in the middle of rallies.Yes Paulg there have been a few haters in this thread today but most just stating their narrow views of a few players.One point I see about Grady and the way he manages That I don’t like is that he tends to Tempt fate at crucial times in tight games and with exception to running out the same nonproductive players waiting for them to produce he lacks consistancy in his decisions or at least consistantly inconsistant.Lets return the Favor and Retake 1st place our pride and Most of All Show LA that the Angels are just the southside wannabes.
Go Blue!!!

Boston needed an excuse/scapegoat for blowing the lead in Game 7 to the Yankees, Grady’s contract extension was coming and they didn’t extend him, so he took the unnecessary blame for something that wasn’t his fault. It’s actually a lot like firing Murray because they needed to do something to show they were not happy with the teams offensive performance this season thus far and you can’t fire the players, so Murray took the hit, which is a decision I personally agree with because of Murray’s personality which has been a problem for 25 plus years.

I don’t want to get too involved in the Grady is good v. Grady is bad debate. I agree with ewk216’s general points that winning is the best measurement, and we’re doing that. I don’t oppose people complaining about the line-up–it’s not the card I would have filled out, but so be it.

My question is for rwbjr0@yahoo.com–where are these stories about the Dodgers underachieving? Honestly, my take is the Dodgers as a team are performing at about an as-expected or better level in the eyes of the national media. It’s seems to be only Dodger fans who expect us to have the best record in baseball (which we’re only 4 games shy of). That may be because Dodger fans know far more about Martin, Kemp, Loney, etc. than the national media does, so we expect more, but I just don’t see of claims that we are underperforming. Correct me if I am wrong.

I’d much rather have Saito than Hoffman. Remember how Hoffman lost the All-Star game last year? His changeup is amazing but his fastball is only average now, and teams can jump all over it from time to time.

I love these kind of games. They get my heart rate going. Probably my favorite game is a 2-1 or a 3-2. Great pitching, good defense (although i think Andre makes that catch in RF, and Kemp definately shouldve), and a really nice clutch hit by Gonzo. Broxton is so weird— it seems like the 9th really affects him bc he just seems SOO automatic in the 8th. And sammy is sammy is the ******* man. He is really reallly ******* awesome and im just so glad he is on our team. I MEAN WHAT A FIND BY NED!! (am i right?? am i??) Great win against a good team. Lets get em tomorrow and take the series.

The children on this blog treat each other like this when the team has the best record in the National League?? Man… I sure hope the Dodgers never fall into last place… because I’d hate to see how you treat each other then.

No civility and certainly no respect for one another. I’m embarrassed for those of you who call yourselves Dodger fans and treat other people like servitude.

Good win tonight (any win is a good win!!) and D-Lowe still can’t get a breather with some extra run support. He pitched a gem! Let’s hope Schmidt gets back on track tomorrow…

Lowe is really good and he is getting to the part of the year where he gets Great.With pitching the way it is right now he is gonna get a 5-6 year contract for 85-100M or more if he continues on his annual pace.

I think we have a really good chance of winning the world series if by the end of the year we have at least 2 starters hitting in the .300s. I think its that simple for this team.. I love the Dodgers so much. Always have, always will and i like our team up and down.

ESPN ***** over the dodgers so much. Just saw the highlights and they barely mentioned Lowe’s stellar performance. Just annoying. I feel like if were some other pitches on different teams would get a K-play by play or something..

I like these low scoring games allot especially after they end and we win. I forgot about Furcals ankle I was wondering why he was so stationary in the first inning, but that was a marvelous hit in the 6th. How come his ankle didn’t bother him on that one?

You can tell there are a lot of youngsters on this blog. This team has just won 4 straight games against 2 play off bound first place teams and they still complain about the lineup. Don’t worry your favorite player will get a chance to play.

Hello First Place! It’s good to see you again…Lowe was fantastic once again and a huge clutch 2 RBI single by Gonzo off a very tough Ervin Santana. I just want to point this out for tomorrow’s FOX game…It’s only being seen in 7% of the country and aside from Southern California only Anchorage, Alaska and Yuma, Arizona will see the game. Such a shame as I would like a little bit more exposure for this series between two very good teams. But alas it is not to be seen…Fox needs to shape up a bit.

A terrific clutch win last night thanks to Lowe, Gonzo, Brox, and Saito in particular. Now let’s build on that 1st place lead.

Couple of points I’d like to make:

Martin seems to be pressing and needs some rest soon. He’s no longer hitting to all fields. He used to drive the outside pitches to right, but now he wants to pull everything. Some readjustment needed there.

If Schmidt can’t get his velocity back to 90 mph plus, he’s not going to win many for us. Today will be a major test. If he’s not ready, I don’t want to see us give away too many games starting him again before we DL him and do whatever is necessary to remedy that situation. In the meantime, let’s get Bills ready to start.

I would like to start seeing a lineup of Gonzo, Ethier, Kemp or Ethier, Pierre, and Kemp in the OF with Betemit, Furcal, Abreu, and Loney in the IF. Even if we do that once a week, I wouldn’t argue with Little a bit over how he arranges that batting order.

The point here being that we need to break up the Nomar, Kent combination while they are both underperforming. If they get hot, play them; otherwise, let’s have our younger guys have a chance to play together and adjust to each other on the field.

My apologies for my lack of civility last night, rwbjr0 – and anyone else who I bothered. It had been a rough day and I get tired of reading the same anti-JP and anti-Grady rhetoric that can tend to dominate this blog; that said, I shouldn’t have posted what I did and I apologize.

11 games over .500 now, and a lot of good performances still to come from the young guys as the dog days approach. I’m pretty excited to see how this team looks in late August and September.

ewk,
ESPN always glosses over the late night West Coast games, because their good coverage teams are sleeping. But ESPN.com has a picture of D Lowe on its front page right now; they’re giving a little respect.

I agree with bear and puppy’s previous posts. The Little/JP points were made long ago.
Especially agree about Martin. A lot is being asked of this young man and he should be rested more. Give him a moment to think things over, especially his approach to batting right now. Young guys will try to pull the ball, so here is a chance for Mueller to step up.

I remember one time, pitcher PREACHER ROE was greeted by the Dodgers, at the dugout, after they laid out some sort of a carpet in front of the dugout, for him to walk over on his way back. It happened after he hit a HOMERUN. I wonder if it would be appropriate for some sort of a celebration for NOMAR

Hooray…CIVILITY returns. Very wise comments posted this morning. Let’s keep it up along with this winning streak. We’re a National League team, so let’s not trade for a power hitter who provides no defense (Dunn. The kids are proving their worth, and we’re winning, so there’s no need to change just for change’s sake. Change to stregnthen weakness is always a good thing, but let’s be sure to identify the weakness and make sure we don’t have the solution in house before we start breaking up a winning combination like we did when we said goodbye to Piazza and then LoDuca. That being said, I’m glad we have Martin now, but the intervening period has been painful to say the least.
Go Blue

To ewk216 10:30PM PT & PUPPY HEAD 7:45AM PT./////Even in their hay day, 1959-thru the 1980s, The Dodgers, while in LA always seem to never get their rightful,deserving coverage on National Sports TV Programs. It always burned me up.

I ‘m so greatful to what has happened to me over the last few years, especially over the last month or so. Here is the Dodger writeup in today’s Daily News (NEW YORK)……….DODGERS 2—ANGEL 1///////Dereck Lowe (7-6)allowed one run over seven innings and had a carrer high 11 strikeouts, leading the host Dodgers. This besides the box scrore.(THIS IS ALL I WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT MY TEAM). I don’t know how I continued to be a Dodger Fan all these years, but you know something I’m glad I did, even if it cost a little more. It’s well worth it. Boy this modern tecnology…..GO DODGERS!!!!!!!

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